Junior Information

Welcome to Wetherby Runners AC – Juniors

We aim to provide an opportunity for all children from 10 years old in our area to experience athletics and cross country and road running in an encouraging and supportive environment. We are affiliated to UK Athletics and all our coaches hold UK Athletics recognised qualifications. We provide regular training sessions tailored for the age group and ability encouraging all round fitness and preparing athletes for competition from beginners to elite. All of our junior athletes are encouraged to enter competitions and supported to achieve their own personal bests. Our club is open to all regardless of ability and we treat all athletes as individual and support them in their sporting aspirations – from running for pleasure and fitness to striving to become an Olympic Champion!

Our Heritage

The club was established in October 2004 and our first junior coaching sessions started in the Spring of 2005. Since that time we have grown our junior membership to in excess of 90 athletes, aged 10 years and upwards. The number of qualified coaches has increased over this period and we offer 5 training sessions a week.
In this period we have had athletes compete for their school, area, county in track and field, cross country and fell races and have had athletes representing their country in multi discipline events such as triathlon, biathlons and biathle events. We have had finalists in the English Schools Track & Field, County Champions, athletes competing for school teams that have won national competitions. All this takes hard work and commitment by the athletes, but also by a dedicated group of people in the club who support their endeavours. We are rightly proud of all their achievements.

How to join

To register your interest and ask any questions please provide the following details:-

Please also email these details to add potential juniors not yet 10 to the waiting list.

When a place is available you will be invited to attend an age appropriate session and you can try it out for a few weeks to check it is for you. If you are enjoying it you can apply on line at SiEntries to join.

How much is membership?

Annual junior membership to Wetherby Runners is currently £15 a year or family membership is also available. This membership fee includes membership to UK Athletics which provides a competition license and insurance and juniors will receive a membership card from UK Athletics and their membership number which is required to enter UK Athletics affiliated competitions.

In addition and paid separately is a junior training fee as the junior section incurs charges for renting facilities and equipment costs and to only cover these there is an additional charge currently of £10 a school term, ie £30 a year. So the overall annual cost for juniors is £45 – less than a £1 a week.

The club covers the cost of certain competitions but there will be additional costs of entry to other competitions, which are usual £3 or £4 and when we visit Carnegie track we have to pay an entry fee of £3.

Competitions

In the Autumn/Winter we enter the West Yorkshire Cross Country League and support juniors in the school area and national cross countries and track and field events. In the spring/summer we enter the West Yorkshire track and Field League and the Harrogate Summer Road league for older athletes. We also support our athletes to enter local open events and fun runs and of course our own Moores Mini marathon for younger athletes which precedes our Wetherby 10k suitable for athletes aged 15 and over which is on the second Sunday in September. We also have several athletes who we support in biathlons and triathlons.

Each September for the winter season of events age groups are:-
Under 11's school years 5 & 6(i.e. under 11 on 31st August at the Start of the season)
(for the West Yorkshire Cross Country for u11’s it is your age the day before the first race in October so those older year 6’s become u13’s)
Under 13's are school years 7 & 8
Under 15's are school years 9 & 10
Under 17's are school years 11 & 12
Under 20's must be under 20 on 31st Dec i.e. for the whole of the current year

In the following April for the Track & Field season age groups change to:-
Under 11's are school years 4 & 5(i.e. under 11 on 31st August at the End of the season)
Under 13's, school years 6 & 7
Under 15's, school years 8 & 9
Under 17's, school years 10 & 11
Under 20's must be under 20 on 31st Dec in the current year

How often should I train?

Primary Age Group -twice a week from Tues, Thursday and sunday

Yr7 & 8 3 times a week Tues, Thursday and Sunday

Yr 9 and above Min 4 times up to 6 times per week - after discussion with me about the type of schedule you should be following.

What to wear

Running is not an expensive sport. When a junior runner starts out they just need a t-shirt and shorts and a pair of trainers – which can be their school PE kit. In colder weather, an extra layer is necessary and perhaps a waterproof top. It's a good idea to take along a bottle of water or an energy drink, especially in hot weather. In winter for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings they will need a hi visibility vest which can be bought at any sports shop and should cost under £10.

If the junior is going to stay with the club and wants to begin to enter events then a good pair of running shoes is important. These shoes have better cushioning and offer greater support than ordinary trainers. Popular makes are: Nike, Saucony, Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Mizuno, Reebok and many others. They are available in specialist running shops and the better sports shops. It is good idea to go to a shop where the sales assistants know what they are talking about and can determine what will best suit as this depends on running style and how your feet land as you run. Running shoes for junior runners are in the £25 - £40 range. As a member of Wetherby Runners we get a discount at all Up and Running shops. In addition to the running trainers, a separate pair of running shoes with spikes is required and these serve for both running on the track (using short spikes) and for running in cross countries (using longer spikes). In junior sizes these cost between £25 to £40.

For UK Athletics events a club vest must be worn and these can be purchased for £15, please see Andrea Normington.

How can you help?

The club is entirely run by volunteers and coaches donate their time for free and are not paid. In order to provide this opportunity to your children and to enable as many local children as possible to benefit we require a commitment from the junior athletes family to provide occasional support. This can range from becoming a coach yourself , helping out at training sessions where you will be picking up and dropping off anyway by staying and helping the coaches maximize the training time by setting out/collecting in equipment, taking and recording timings or helping with admin such as keeping the website up to date, collating results or baking a cake for our refreshment stall at the Wetherby 10k!. Please get involved at whatever level you can.

Welcome Pack: - For further information for new athletes, parents and guardians about the club, how we operate, codes of conduct and athlete, parent and coach responsibilities click here – LINK TO WELCOME LETTER -